Are Escape Attempts a Sign of Approaching Laying?

[3KillerBs]

Popcorn, my SLW, has been out of the pen twice in the past 24 hours. I wondered if approaching egg production can spark the desire to wander.

She squatted last week and when I did a vent check after catching her just now I found her at about 2.5 fingers.

Both times I found her just outside the fence rather than trying to hide in a nestlike cubby, but it's possible that she'd been under the nearby shed (I'll get the 15yo to be the one to lie down on the ground and look under for eggs). She had dug big holes into the nearby pinestraw so it's possible that fresh digging area could be the attraction.

??

 

[azygous]

Yes, they get very agitated when they begin to lay. I have five POL pullets now, chattering and fussing and searching out nooks and crannies for a nest. Even after showing them the nest boxes, one has been digging a crater in the sand in the coop to lay her eggs. This is after I blocked off the dark corner behind this current crater.

Block off the underside of your coop for now or that pullet will develop a habit of laying there and it's not easy to break.

 

[3KillerBs]

Block off the underside of your coop for now or that pullet will develop a habit of laying there and it's not easy to break.

That is blocked. She's gone over the fence twice in 24 hours and there is a shed nearby. I don't know yet if she's tried to lay there or not.

The two who are laying already are putting their eggs nicely into the nestboxes next to the golf balls. Hopefully Popcorn will get the idea.

 

[azygous]

You could install Popcorn in the coop at the first sign she's getting egg laying agitated and leave her closed up there until she figures this nest thing out.

 

[3KillerBs]

You could install Popcorn in the coop at the first sign she's getting egg laying agitated and leave her closed up there until she figures this nest thing out.

The thing is that I don't know.

And I can't catch her. She's not wild, but she's not hand-tame either.

 

[aart]

The thing is that I don't know.

And I can't catch her. She's not wild, but she's not hand-tame either.

Maybe leave them in the coop tomorrow morning....
.....if you can't secure the run from 'over the fence' escapades.

 

[3KillerBs]

I'll see if we find any stray eggs anywhere.

 

[3KillerBs]

No eggs found under the shed. Hopefully she'll decide that the nestboxes are a good place for the first egg.

 

[3KillerBs]

I was reminded of this thread because all week I've been having to recapture the Splits after they've left the pen. It seems that every time I turn around one or two of them are on the wrong side of the netting.

Each one caught has gotten an exam. So far the widest pelvic bones are about 1.5 fingers -- making progress, but not very close yet.

Based on the calendar I'd expect eggs at the end of the month.